Pre-camp is over.Veterans have to report by midnight tomorrow and minicamp officially begins Friday.

Even as I yawned through the past three practices and looked forward to Friday morning, some young players (and vets) and a trend or two were evident.

Rookie nose tackle Cam Thomas is what Philip Rivers called "a beast." Thomas is explosive, powerful and agile (for 335 pounds). But as I watched Thomas today pushing rookie guard Ryan Otterson backward as if Otterson were on a piano dolly, I couldn't help but smile as I thought of Thomas going against Kris Dielman.

Legedu Naane is stepping up. The Chargers have accused me of trying to be his agent in the past, because I've been so high on him, so it's not like this is the first time I've noticed him. But he's clearly here to show he can start. Naanee made two catches yesterday (and Philip Rivers made two throws) that the best cornerback in the league couldn't have defended.

Rookie free agent Shawnbrey McNeal is on another level from Curtis Brinkley. McNeal's competition for the third running back spot will be Marcus Mason.

Traye Simmons, an undrafted cornerback from Minnesota, intercepted Rivers again, this time on a deep pass that went up for grabs. Now, Rivers schooled Simmons a few plays later on a fade to Dedrick Epps for a touchdown.

I came in looking for a a lot of inside passes in a VJ-less offense, and maybe once Buster Davis and Josh Reed get here it will change a little. But it appears this is still going to be a sideline-to-sideline team -- at least until its shown it can't be.

You can already see the physicality at the line by cornerbacks and hear secondary coach Steve Wilks calling for the disrupting of routes. It's a point of emphasis for the defensive staff this year.

Pre-camp is over.Veterans have to report by midnight tomorrow and minicamp officially begins Friday.

Even as I yawned through the past three practices and looked forward to Friday morning, some young players (and vets) and a trend or two were evident.

Rookie nose tackle Cam Thomas is what Philip Rivers called "a beast." Thomas is explosive, powerful and agile (for 335 pounds). But as I watched Thomas today pushing rookie guard Ryan Otterson backward as if Otterson were on a piano dolly, I couldn't help but smile as I thought of Thomas going against Kris Dielman.

Legedu Naane is stepping up. The Chargers have accused me of trying to be his agent in the past, because I've been so high on him, so it's not like this is the first time I've noticed him. But he's clearly here to show he can start. Naanee made two catches yesterday (and Philip Rivers made two throws) that the best cornerback in the league couldn't have defended.

Rookie free agent Shawnbrey McNeal is on another level from Curtis Brinkley. McNeal's competition for the third running back spot will be Marcus Mason.

Traye Simmons, an undrafted cornerback from Minnesota, intercepted Rivers again, this time on a deep pass that went up for grabs. Now, Rivers schooled Simmons a few plays later on a fade to Dedrick Epps for a touchdown.

I came in looking for a a lot of inside passes in a VJ-less offense, and maybe once Buster Davis and Josh Reed get here it will change a little. But it appears this is still going to be a sideline-to-sideline team -- at least until its shown it can't be.

You can already see the physicality at the line by cornerbacks and hear secondary coach Steve Wilks calling for the disrupting of routes. It's a point of emphasis for the defensive staff this year.

VJ may have over estimated his leverage with the team, as he listened to his agent spew ego into his irresponsible head. I doubt this offense misses a beat. Even if MM misses most of the season, I strongly suspect that Tra Thomas has more left in the tank than a lot of people think. He and Dombrowski will do just fine.